Why Dean Winchester Hates Fish Tanks
by ThePenguinofDeath
Summary: ... and why he kind of loves them to. Destiel High School AU where Castiel is an insane weirdo who Dean definitely does not have a schoolgirl crush on, Dean is confused about everything, and Sammy just wants a fish tank so he can complete his dream project for the school science fair.
1. Why Dean Winchester Hates Fish Tanks

**I'm not entirely sure what this is, other than a random Destiel High School type thing that popped into my head. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

It all started with the goddamn fish tank.

Sammy had come home from school one day spouting nonsense about the science fair, asking Dean for a favour for his project. Now, Dean was no idiot, and he knew there had to be a catch somewhere, but he had a soft spot for his geek brother so he agreed with very little persuasion. What harm could it do, right? The little nerd just wanted a small fish tank so he could demonstrate some random shit about ecosystems. Nothing could possibly go awry.

Wrong.

That small decision had probably been the biggest mistake of Dean's eighteen years of life.

Fast forward two hours, and Dean was sat in some crappy hospital room, a bandage around his head and a splitting headache that despite the pain meds still hurt like a motherfucker.

So how exactly does a fish tank put you in hospital? Well, it probably had something to do with his little brother's puppy eyes, an unhelpful assistant and that absolute asshole Castiel.

Dean had felt surprisingly happy driving to the nearest pet shop, listening to Sammy babble excitedly about the science fair and school and some guy called Brady who had the 'weirdest project ever!'. In fact, it had even provoked somewhat cheerful memories of his own science fair days. Of course, he hadn't actually entered, because he wasn't a nerd like Sammy. No, he had enlisted the help of Gabriel, a then-Junior who was always up for some mischief, to sabotage the entire event. The whole school had had to be evacuated and everyone sent home for the day following some kind of 'accidental' chemical reaction. Genius. That had been one of Dean's crowning moments. It had landed him in detention for a month, but hey, it had been worth it.

However, as soon as Sammy had dragged Dean into the shop, things had started to go very downhill. Starting from the moment that Dean looked up and locked eyes with none other than Castiel.

Castiel was in Dean's class. While Dean was doing moderately well, hoping to graduate with decent enough grades to get into the local uni for something, Castiel was a genius. He had a full ride to fricking Harvard to study Theology and Classical Literature, and if that wasn't weird enough he had taught himself ancient Greek and Latin for fun. For fun. The guy was clearly cracked in the head, and Dean tried to stay away from him as much as possible.

The problem was, Castiel was just so freaking _hot. _Dean had been quite comfortably bisexual for his entire time at high school, but no-one had caught his interest quite like Castiel. The blueness of his eyes was captivating and his voice always sounded raspy like he had just given someone a blowjob. It was completely sexy. But Castiel was a bit of a freak and a religious nut, so no matter how awesome the guy looked or how much Dean wanted to talk to him about their shared love of Vonnegut (which he did not know about from following the guy around a bookshop for half an hour) he was not going there. No. Definitely not.

As soon as Dean walked in and noticed Castiel, he had to resist the urge to either run away or march up to the guy and start doing things which were not appropriate in a shop in front of his little brother. It was a tad awkward. Fortunately for him, Castiel quickly dropped his gaze and appeared to immerse himself in reading labels on tins of cat food. Which was a bit weird, but Cas was a bit weird, so that was nothing new. And now Dean was giving Castiel nicknames in his head. He was going insane. Or he was there already. Fuck, he needed a drink.

Sammy, sweet little Sammy, noticed nothing and practically ran over to a bored looking shop assistant to start yabbering about fish tanks. Dean followed like a dutiful older brother, interjecting occasional protests about cost and practicality ("No, Sam, you will not get a two metre fish tank into my baby!"). He was forced to study dozens of identical looking glass structures, and pretended to give insightful comments whilst internally screaming for help. He had no idea what he was doing. Why had he been dragged into this again? Oh yeah, because Sammy had a science fair project and their father did bugger all to support his son like a normal father would.

They had just about decided on a cheap, simple glass fish tank when three things happened at once.

Firstly, the shop assistant's phone rang, causing him to curse entirely unprofessionally and turn away to answer it. Secondly, Dean became bored of staring at glass tanks and turned around to look for an escape. Thirdly, Castiel materialised behind Dean and shocked the living daylights out of him when he turned around.

"Fuck – Cas!"

Cue Dean stumbling backwards to try and gain personal space, tripping over, falling into a display of fish tanks and cracking his head on the glass.

Most. Awkward. Moment. Of. His Life.

So now he was in a hospital, having just had shards of glass removed from his freaking head, trying not to freak out or hit something. Of course he would successfully turn a simple shopping trip into an emergency. In front of Castiel. Who he might possibly have a slight, entirely ridiculous but completely manly crush on.

Dean tried to run his fingers through his hair and winced as he prodded his bandage. Right. That was probably a really bad idea. Sighing, he turned to look for the button to call for more pain meds when the door swung open and none other than angelic sex-bomb Castiel himself walked in. Dean tried not to obviously check the guy out, keeping his gaze trained on the guy's face. Not that that helped – Cas had the deepest, most hypnotizing eyes Dean had ever seen.

Castiel stared at Dean, and Dean stared at Cas. Neither of them blinked for about thirty seconds, and which point Dean realised his eyes were watering and he had basically been eye-fucking the school freak who had inadvertently put him in hospital.

"Dude, what are you doing here?"

"I came to apologise."

Oh right. Of course, Cas was probably feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing. Dean certainly would.

"It's no biggie, forget about it. It's my fault for being clumsy. I should have looked where I was going. Or remembered there was glass there. Or something."

Cas was still staring. It was quite off-putting, having those blue-blue eyes trained on you at all times. Dean was finding himself distracted by thoughts that were even more inappropriate in a hospital following an accidental head injury and trashing of half a shop. He blamed the fall. It had scrambled his brain.

"I'll help pay the damages, of course."

Dean squeezed his eyes shut. Fuck. He had forgotten that he would almost certainly have to pay for breaking everything. Shit, his dad was going to murder him.

"Aww man, I can't make you do that." Dean protested anyway, not really comfortable with Cas paying.

"It's no problem, Dean. I will take responsibility for the negative connotations of my actions."

The guy talked like a dictionary. It was seven thousand types of hot, but it made it really hard sometimes for Dean to translate what he was saying.

"Urm, OK. Alright. Whatever you want."

Cas was still standing there. Dean was running out of things to say, and wondering if it would be inappropriate to start discussing Vonnegut or if Cas would think Dean was a stalker. Which he wasn't. Really.

Fortunately, Cas spoke first.

"When I approached you in the shop, I actually wanted to ask you if you were interested in having dinner with me."

Dean's pain meds were causing him to hallucinate things.

There was no way that Castiel, weirdo Castiel with his smart but unfashionable clothes and strange trenchcoat and brains to rival Stephen Hawking, was asking Dean to dinner. No. That couldn't be happening. For fuck's sake, Castiel didn't even like Dean. Dean was one of the moderately popular guys who took the mick out of Castiel for his strange vocabulary and obsession with religion and mythology. Dean took part in organised sports which Cas had some kind of vendetta against. Sure, they shared a love of Vonnegut and classic cars and rock music, but Cas didn't know that. Dean only knew that because he took an unhealthy interest in other people's private lives.

Finally, Dean spat out an eloquent, "What?" and Castiel looked uncomfortable.

"I wanted to ask you out to dinner. On a date. I believe that is the accepted social custom when you are pursuing someone romantically."

"The hell would you want to go on a date with me for?"

Dean couldn't believe it. Cas was serious. He would have pinched himself, except his head was killing and he didn't feel like being in any more pain right now. Dean had no idea how mad Castiel had ended up interested in him, but while he probably should be running away, he felt stupidly happy.

"You fascinate me."

OK, woah. Cas normally sounded pretty much like the personification of sex. But that was when he wasn't trying. This was on an entirely new level. Trying-be-be-sexy Cas sounded like the definition of sin. Holy hell, Dean was half aroused just from those three words. They weren't even sexy words, on their own.

But Dean wasn't some innocent little freshman, and he refused to be left behind now that he was fairly certain Cas actually wanted to play this game. He allowed a smirk to cover his face, ignoring the twinges from his head.

"Is that so, sweetheart?"

Cas was definitely interested, as his entire face seemed to change as he took in Dean's words. His pupils dilated, and a slight sheen of sweat appeared on his skin.

Before Dean even registered him moving, Castiel was right in front of his face, and then he was leaning down to Dean's level where he was sat, his lips inches away. Dean sucked in a breath, waiting for Cas to close the gap between them.

"Dean I – oh!"

Fucking cockblocking little...

Cas moved away, and Dean tried to hide his disappointment and frustration as he turned towards the door.

"Sammy." He said simply.

"Um, dad wants us home now. The doctor said it's fine for you to leave, as long as you remember your meds."

The kid looked extremely awkward, and Dean sighed before nodding and clambering unsteadily to his feet. His head swam, but he ignored it in favour of moving towards the door.

"Sorry Cas... rain check?"

"Actually, it's quite sunny outside," Cas replied, confused, before adding, "Cas?"

Ahh. Dean would explain that one later.

"It's an expression. Forget it. We can talk about this tomorrow?"

Cas seemed to consider this, before stepping forward again and capturing Dean's lips in a brief, chaste kiss.

Holy shitballs Castiel was far too good at that. Chaste kisses should not feel so good.

"Tomorrow." Cas agreed simply, before wandering out the room, his trenchcoat billowing behind him like that cool dude in The Matrix.

Sammy was looking at Dean with raised eyebrows and confusion, but Dean just shook his head.

"Not talking about it. Bitch."

"Jerk. I couldn't even get my fish tank."

He sounded so sad that Dean almost laughed.

"I haven't heard you sound like that since that time you were six and lost your shoe."

Sam aimed patented bitch face number ten at him, and Dean laughed properly this time before grabbing his brother's shoulder to steer him out. And possibly so that he didn't end up walking into walls because it was a bit hard to see with a pounding head. But Sammy didn't need to know that.

Although he probably worked it out when Dean bashed into the doorframe leaving the hospital.

**Thoughts?**


	2. Why Dean Winchester Loves Castiel

**I wasn't intending to continue this but I was asked for more... so here it is! This will probably be the last instalment in this verse, at least for now, because of time restraints and my dedication to Heaven Is A Place On Earth.**

Dean was an idiot. A class A, award-winning, completely screwed idiot. He had done a lot of stupid things in his time but this really took the cake. Or pie. Because pie was obviously better than cake.

Agreeing to go on a date with Castiel was social suicide. He knew that. Sure, he knew his closest friends cared about much more than who he wanted to date, but his extended friendship group all hated Castiel. The guy was infuriating with his attitude and brains and general air of mystery. Dean wasn't the most popular guy around, but he had a reputation that at least ensured no-one messed with him. Dating Castiel would change that. Despite everything, Dean wasn't sure he would be able to cope.

Of course, Dean wouldn't refuse to date someone just for those reasons. Oh no. There were literally hundreds of reasons why Dean shouldn't date Castiel – their general incompatibility, the fact Castiel drove him up the wall most of the time, not to mention his fashion sense. Plus, half the time Dean didn't even know what Cas was saying with his extensive vocabulary. Appreciating the long words and deep gravel tone was all well and good, but being able to have a conversation with your boyfriend was important.

Woah. Boyfriend. Dean shoved that word out of his head. This was one date. One measly date. One date did not make him and Castiel boyfriends. It just made them two guys going out on a date. Nothing more.

Dean determinedly ignored the 'for now' dancing around in his brain as he smoothed down his shirt and looked to see if he was presentable.

His plaid shirt was a lot less wrinkled than it could have been, and the jeans weren't ripped. Dean counted that as success. Satisfied, he grabbed his normal leather jacket and shouted a goodbye up to Sammy as he left the house. Sammy was used to him randomly going out, he shouldn't question this.

Plus, the little guy had been infuriatingly smug since he had caught Dean and Cas together at the hospital.

A blush almost rose to Dean's cheeks at that memory, and Dean Winchester didn't blush. Especially not over chaste kisses that only lasted a few seconds. If he didn't know better, he would say he had suffered brain damage that day, or at the very least been addled by excess pain medication.

Dean relaxed as he climbed into his baby and turned the key, comforted by the roar of her engine. He had insisted on driving both him and Cas when Cas had let slip that he drove a Prius. A goddamn Prius. That was another reason why Dean shouldn't be dating Castiel – they shared a love of classic cars, but because Cas was an awful mechanic, he insisted on driving that monstrosity everywhere. Dean Winchester did not date Prius drivers.

Castiel lived in a fairly large house just off the Interstate with all the siblings who weren't currently off at university or college. Dean had driven past the Novak house many times, but he had never thought he would be stopping there. Ok, that was a lie, he had possibly considered it once. In conjunction with a fantasy about fucking Cas there. Maybe.

Dean felt unbelievably awkward and he drew up outside before getting out of the car and ringing the bell. He shouldn't be here. Even back when he had been prank buddies with Gabriel he had never considered setting foot in this house. But then again, Gabriel had gotten out as soon as he was old enough to leave, setting off for a university as far away as possible and staying there. He had never gotten on that well with his family, his older brother especially.

Thankfully, Cas answered the door, so Dean wasn't forced to deal with the obnoxious Michael or – God forbid – Zachariah.

"Um, hey." Dean greeted, taking in Castiel's outfit of an ill-fitting suit with a backwards tie. "Shall we, uh, go?"

"Hello Dean." Cas replied simply, his eyes unashamedly raking over Dean's body before returning to make eye contact. "I will just fetch my coat."

Dean waited, awkwardly twiddling his thumbs as Cas grabbed his trenchcoat before stepping out the door. Dean offered him a small smile as he led him down to where his baby was parked.

He heard Castiel gasp. "She's beautiful."

Dean instantly felt more at ease, smiling genuinely. "She is. She was my dad's, before... anyway, he passed her on to me, and I look after her. She's my baby."

Cas ran a hand over her paintwork almost lovingly, and Dean felt a pang at the sight. The first test had been passed – Castiel liked his car.

"Where are we going then?" Dean asked. Cas had mentioned the restaurant to him before, but it wasn't like he memorised their conversations. Well, not every word of them.

"The Golden Swan. It's a favourite of mine, their steaks are mouth-watering. Do you require directions?"

Dean nodded, opening the door for Cas like a proper date before moving his way round to the other side. Holy shit, this was actually happening. At a proper goddamn restaurant no less. It felt strangely surreal, and Dean had to resist the urge to panic.

To avoid any awkward silence, Dean turned his music on as he pulled away, allowing Metallica to fill the car. Cas smiled at the choice.

"I like this song. It makes me think of hope."

"Me too." Dean agreed. He knew that Cas was fond of this sort of music, but the confirmation made him happy. Score two for Cas.

"I heard it covered by a band at the Roadhouse a couple of years ago. They were very good, but they didn't quite do the song justice. There's something special about hearing the original."

Dean was shocked, a memory sparking in his brain. "Holy shit, you snuck into the Roadhouse to hear Steel Bullet's tribute? Fucking hell, dude. I was there."

Dean would never have thought of obedient Castiel sneaking into bars to hear metal bands. He had been obsessing over the guy for sixth months now, and he had never seen any hint of that kind of behaviour. There was a lot more to Cas than met the eye.

"I know you were there. I saw you. You were dancing fairly appallingly with the owner's daughter – or at least, you were until the owner noticed and dragged her daughter away."

Wait. Cas had noticed Dean?

"By the owner you mean Ellen. She's a family friend, that's why she let me in underage in the first place. Her daughter, Jo, is a complete firecracker, but Ellen's seriously overprotective. Jo's like a sister to me."

"You go there a lot, then."

Dean shrugged, taking one hand off the wheel and resting it on his knee. "Fairly often. Whenever Sammy's at a friend's house, basically. Little guy's got a lot of friends so that's most weekends. I play poker and pool with Jo and Ash – Ash is the bartender, complete computer geek. He's going to MIT next year, a year early."

"Take a left."

Dean swerved slightly turning the car at the last minute. "More warning, dude!"

"We're here."

Sure enough, a sign proclaimed 'The Golden Swan' to be right ahead. Dean noticed a different sign pointing to the parking lot and followed it, parking his baby before turning off the music and getting out.

The restaurant was just as swanky as Dean had expected, and he felt very out of place. Castiel, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at home, saying something to a waiter that ended in them being taken to a private room to one side and quickly handed menus before the waiter vanished.

"Um, dude..." Dean wanted to complain about just how out of his price range this place was, but Cas held up a hand to stop him.

"My father rents out this room on a monthly basis to conduct business meetings. He agreed to allow me to borrow it for the night. All expenses will be charged to the family bank account so you don't need to worry about paying."

"I can't let you do that!" Dean protested.

"You can pay next date." Cas soothed him.

Cas was already planning a next date?

Dean was surprisingly OK with that. He should probably be worried.

He should be even more worried about how easily conversation flowed from then on.

Him and Cas had so much in common it was terrifying. Dean had thought that his months of 'casual observation' had allowed him to get to know the guy, but oh no. His secrets had secrets. He was an enigma wrapped up in an awful suit and trenchcoat, and every word he said made Dean fall for him a little more.

Like Dean, Castiel enjoyed martial arts – which given his hatred for most sports, surprised Dean, but Cas claimed it was different. Whilst Dean was his school wrestling champion, Castiel was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and apparently was looking to start judo on the side. Their shared love of Vonnegut had been obvious, but when Castiel mentioned harbouring a guilty love of the TV show Doctor Sexy, Dean almost proposed right there.

"Dude! It's like the best show on TV ever. The guy who plays Doctor Sexy is fucking hot. Not to mention the nurses, mm, yes please."

"I cosplayed as Doctor Sexy once."

Oh, fuck him. Heat flowed straight to Dean's groin at those words. Castiel as Doctor Sexy. He had a feeling he had just developed a fetish.

Cas seemed to have noticed his reaction, as he leant forward with a positively sinful smirk on his face.

"Would you like me to cosplay for you, Dean? Should I be your very own Doctor Sexy?"

Screw everything, Dean needed Cas. He needed him now.

The remains of their delicious food were forgotten in favour of Dean showing Cas how great that idea was. Judging by Cas's moans, he heartily approved.

The dirty looks Dean got in school when he announced his and Cas's new relationship were totally worth it.

**I hope you liked it!**


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